(Newser)
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Wednesday is International Women's Day, as well as the International Women's Strike and "A Day Without a Woman," and one bronzed young lady isn't taking any bull when it comes to celebrating them. A New York City firm erected a statue of what Business Insider describes as a "defiant girl" to face down Wall Street's famous bronze bull in lower Manhattan—all in the name of empowerment for women. While many people discuss gender diversity, State Street Global Advisors wanted to "take it to a broader level," company rep Anne McNally tells Reuters. And so SSGA obtained what McNally calls the piece of "guerrilla art" from artist Kristen Visbal and placed it in front of the bull on Tuesday. SSGA's installment of The Fearless Girl was done with an assist by the McCann New York agency, Adweek reports.

The move is part of the investment firm's initiative to push for more women on corporate boards, which it believes would increase both shareholder value and company performance. The firm, said to be the world's third-largest asset manager, planned on delivering that exact message to 3,500 or so companies on Tuesday, asking each one to ensure at least one woman was on its board and threatening to vote against those who didn't make an effort to do so. McCann has secured a weeklong permit for the girl statue, but organizers are hoping she might stick around for good, much like what happened with the adjacent bull. That piece was initially taken down after artist Arturo Di Modica snuck it in front of the NYSE on Broad Street in December 1989, but it was reinstalled a short time later by the city in nearby Bowling Green Park. The Wall Street Journal explains how Visbal created Miss "Fearless."